Which to use
“coisa” and “cost” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #105
- “coisa” frequency rank
- #22,928
- “cost” frequency rank
- 23033
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | coisa | cost |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | qualquer objeto inanimado; em sentido filosófico, coisa é tudo aquilo subsistente por si mesmo; a filosofia kantiana afirma ser uma coisa aquilo que existe independentemente do espírito; no sentido usual, como para o Direito, coisa é tudo aquilo que, percebido pelos sentidos, pode apresentar utilidade para o homem, caso em que se chama bem material | custo |
Where the eye mixes coisa and cost
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: coisa vs cost
A purely visual mix-up. coisa ([ˈkojzɐ]) and cost (/ˈkɔst/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23033, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
coisa is recorded at frequency rank #105, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkojzɐ]. cost is at rank #22,928, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɔst/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 23033, this pair ranks #46,867 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of coisa vs cost
Shared letters: cos. Private to "coisa": ai. Private to "cost": t.
"coisa" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "cost" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "coisa" and "cost" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "coisa" or "cost" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "coisa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cost" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #46,867 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "coisa" and "cost" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "copta vs cost". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #46,867 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.